Container cap



Aug. 8, 1944.

l. L. WILCOX ET AL CONTAINER CAP Filed July 12, 1937 I NVENTORS i WATTORNEYH'.

Patented Aug. 8, 1944' CONTAINER CAP Isaac L. Wilcox and Robert F.Huntley, Fulton,

N. Y., assignors to OswegoFalls Corporation, Fulton, N. ;Y., acorporation of New York Application July 12, 1937, Serial No. 153,084

2 Claims.

such as paper, with the blank being scored to form overlappingpleats inthe marginal portion of the blank when the same is applied to the bottleor container, and which pleat portions are secured together by means ofadhesive.

The invention has as an object a cap of the,

type referred to which, while beingsecured together and held on thebottle by means of adhesive, is not deleteriously afiected by moisture,and whereby the pleated portions will not become unfastened to permitdisplacement of the cap from the bottle.

The invention has as a further object a particularly economical andefilcient method of making .such a cap.

The invention consists in the novel features and in the combinations andconstructionshereinafter set forth, and in the method hereinafterdescribed and claimed.

In describing this invention, reference is had to the accompanyingdrawing in which like characters designate corresponding parts in allthe views.

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the blank which has been processed and isready to be formed and applied to the bottle.

Figure 2 is a side elevational view showing the scored portion of theblank partially folded to form the skirt portion of the cap.

Heretofore bottle caps of the cover-all or hood type have been formedfrom" paper and like material, and have been scored to form overlappingpleats in the skirt portion of the cap, and which pleats have beensecured together in overlapping relationship by means of an adhesive.Insofar as we are aware, the use of adhesives for this purpose has notbeen satisfactory, due to the fact that the marginal edge port-ion of.the blank, or the bottom edge portion of the skirt of the cap, has atendency to absorb water or moisture which renders the skirt portion ofthe cap soft and flexible, and also causes the adhesive to part from theoverlapping portions of the cap, with the result that the pleats open upand the cap is readily displaced from the bottle. If the cap or blank isprocessed in the conventional manner by waxing, or the like, adhesivesubsequently applied to the blank will not stick to the same.

.To overcome these disadvantages paper caps have been coated with astiffening binder which,

'when cooled, becomes hardened and sets the cap in folded form on thetop of the bottle. However, such caps require being processed in anoven, or other heating medium, to soften the binder just previous to theformation and application of the cap to the bottle and thereafter it isnecessary to mechanically hold the cap in contracted form on the bottleuntil the binder has sufiiciently cooled. This results in an expensiveand cumbersome machine which operates at comparatively slow speed. I

Accordingly, while it is desirable to secure together the overlappingportionsof hood caps by means of adhesive, such practice has notheretofore been commercially practical, due to the loosening of theadhesive from the cap because of the waxed surface thereof, or moreparticularly because of moisture absorbed into the cap through the loweredge thereof and .through the weakened portions where the "pleat arefolded.

, By our invention, the cap is not only rendered moisture repellent, butthe adhesive is'firmly bound to the cap.

The cap may be of any conventional formation, and as here shown inFigure 1 the blank may be octagonal having an octagonal center portionIn defined by score lines H which are arranged in register with theouter side edges of the blank. The marginal portion of the blank,extending from the score lines H to the periphery of the blank,constitutes the skirt portion of the cap, and is provided with scorelines l2 extending from the corners of the central portion [0 to theouter corners of the blank. Score lines l3 also extend from the cornersof the central portion I0 across alternate skirt sections I 4 to theperiphery of the blank, and at right angles to the score lines II. Thescore lines I2, I3 define triangular portions I5. The score lines ll,l-3 are formed on one side of the blank, and the score lines 12 on theopposite side of the blank. When the blank is formed into a cap andapplied to the bottle, the triangular portions l5 fold inwardly towardeach other and overlap the adjacent portion of the skirt sections l6.Preferably, the triangular portions I5 are folded inwardly on the innerside ofthe cap adjacent the neck of the bottle, as illustrated in Figure2.

After the blank is scored, the peripheral margin of the same is immersedinto a thin, penetrating solution until the peripheral margin 20 of theblank is impregnated with the solution. This solution is in the natureof a fiber binder impregnation, and acts to bind the fibers of the blankinto an integral mass, thus preventing the entrance of moisture. To thisend, it is prefer- 'able that the solution be of moisture repellentmaterial, although this is not necessary if it is a good fiber binder.Subsequently, the impregnated portions of the triangular sections II andthe adjacent portions of the sections it are coated with adhesive, asindicated at 2|. That is, the portions of the pleats which are inoverlapping relationship, when the cap is applied to the bottle, arecoated with adhesive. The impregnating solution applied to the margin 20preferably possesses the further characteristic of having an amnity for,or of forming a base for, the adhesive and also preferably possesses thecharacteristic of being flexible and elastic when desired. If theimpregnating solution possesses an amnity for the'adhesive, the adhesiveis securely bound to the overlapping pleat portions.

We have found that an impregnating solution formed of benzol and rubberpossesses all of the desired characteristics and is particularlysatisfactory for this use, and an adhesive of the rubber cement order,including a rubber base, combines well with such impregnating solutionand possesses the further advantage that it will not adhere to othersubstances. That is, the blanks may be arranged in stack formation, andthe adhesive on the portions 2! will not adhere to the bottom of the capnext above in the stack.

It will be appreciated by those familiar with the art that the blanksmay be of any form or size, and any desired scoring may be employed toform overlapping pleat portions.

The blanks-are applied to the bottles or containers by any suitablemechanism having relative axial movement with the container, whereby theskirt sections of th blank are bent downwardly and contracted about thetop of the container, and the overlapping portions of the skirt pressedtogether. Due to the impregnation of the lower portion of the cap skirt,the same is rendered moisture-repellent, and the bond between theadhesive and the cap is not affected when the cap is subjected tomoisture, such for example as "packing the bottles in cracked ice whilebeing delivered to the customer, and accordingly the cap will not becomeunsealed or loosened from the top of the bottle. Also, the impregnationof the margin of the blank permits the use of a less costly grade ofpaper.

What we claim is: k 1. A hood cap for bottles and the like comprising ablank formed of thin sheet fibrous material scored to form overlappingpleat portions when the cap is applied to the bottle, the peripheralmargin 0! said blank being impregnated with a thin, penetrating solutionof benzol and rubber, and the overlapping portion of certain of saidpleats being coated with a substance substantially non-adhesive withsaid fibrous material and strongly self-adhesive at normal temperature,and said substance readily combining with said benzol andrubber=solution.

2. A hood cap for bottles and the like comprising a blank formed of thinsheet fibrous material scored to form overlapping pleat portions whenthe cap is applied to the bottle, the peripheral margin of said blankbeing impregnated with a thin, penetratingsolution of benzol and rubber,and the overlapping portion of certain of said pleats being coated witha substance including a rubber base, which substance is substantiallynon-adhesive with said fibrous material and strongly self-adhesive atnormal temperature, and said substance readily combining with saidimpregnating benzol and rubber solution.

ISAAC L. WILCOX. ROBERT F. HUN'I'IEY.

